All posts tagged cooking with children

These bites were originally meant for after school but running late to school after hibernating at home for a couple of snow days, they quickly became the perfect “eat in the car breakfast, because we are beyond late!” After school I like to include a snack that is packed with protein to curb that afternoon grumpiness in my boys. They’re not fans of too many whole nuts at a time so crushing them into a nut meal seems to work really well and blended with the banana, raw cacao, spices, and orange, it’s closer to a treat than a snack. This is a great one for the kids to help with and they can be stored in the refrigerator to pop out at snack time and maybe even those super rushed mornings.

cooking note … if you would like to use a blend of nuts and pulse them in a food processor, this works well too. I find almond meal and cashew at Trader Joes.

DIRECTIONS

If you are making your own meal from nuts just crush them in a processor or a blender until ground, but not into a butter. For the almond butter, you can certainly just make your own while you are already blending nuts.

Place the nut meal, asian five spice or cinnamon, and the cacao powder in a large bowl. Mash the banana on a plate and then add in the honey and almond butter. Add this mixture to the nut meal mixture. Mix in the salt and the orange juice or extract. Mix this all together with a wooden spoon. Let this cool in the refrigerator for an hour and then roll into 1″ round bites. Freeze the bites for 30 minutes and then roll them in coconut (you could also roll them in chopped nuts instead of the coconut).

I know, I know, zucchini is NOT in season right now but this super simple dish was an Italy favorite for my friend Erin and I so I wanted to share it with you. My kids prefer their veggies raw so this one was an instant pleaser. This is also an easy one for the kids to make themselves and they especially love peeling the ribbons of zucchini.

1 medium zucchini

1-1/2 T. good quality olive oil

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 T. chopped basil

lightly season with salt and cracked ground pepper

large shavings of parmesan or hard pecorino cheese

2 T. pine nuts | toast in a pan for a few minutes and let cool

DIRECTIONS

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and spoon out the seeds. Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into thin ribbons. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and basil and carefully mix with hands. Add on the large shavings of cheese and toasted pine nuts right before serving.

As promised, I’m sharing with all of you a new favorite version of the caprese salad with a super healthy green topping that the kids helped to prepare and then devoured!

Swiss chard, kale, and bok choy have all been abundant in the garden lately and we usually chop it up to make a variety of raw salads. We all love caprese salad in the summertime and adding these greens is a great way to add super nutrients.

The boys cut the basil and greens from the garden and chopped up the tomatoes and mozzerella for the salad. I am such a believer in letting the kids help out with meals. It’s not always manageable or easy (mostly lack of patience on my end at meal time) but they almost always eat what they have helped to prepare, even if it is a salad made of kale, swiss chard, and bok choy!

CAPRESE SALAD w/ SUPER GREEN BASIL TOPPING

1 c. fresh tomatoes chopped

1 c. chopped fresh mozzarella

1 c. chopped combination of swiss chard, bok choy, and kale ( this is usually a few leaves of each depending on the size)

1/4 c. chopped basil

1T. olive oil

1/4 t. good quality balsamic vinegar

1/2 t. honey (or if you are using a sweet flavored balsamic vinegar then omit the honey)

sea salt and pepper to taste

more olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a light drizzle

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients together except for the chopped tomato and mozzarella. Massage the super green basil mixture together (as shown above by emma). Place chopped tomato and mozzarella on plate. Top with super green basil mixture and then drizzle lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top it off with a little sea salt and cracked pepper.